iGaming
Malta has managed to provid a legal framework for gaming operators, whilst at the same time never foregoing high levels of player protection. This has produced a foremost gaming jurisdiction associated with professionalism, regulation and trust.
Mifsud & Mifsud Advocates prides itself of in-depth expertise in all aspects of gaming, based on a thorough understanding of the business and of the specific needs peculiar to different types of operators, whether betting, betting exchanges, casinos, poker rooms, gaming platforms or marketers. The Firm is geared to provide advice going beyond conventional licensing requirements.
Licence Applications
In order to provide remote betting/gaming services from Malta, one needs to obtain a licence of the class appropriate to the operations. Licensees are expected to operate in compliance to the Lotteries and Other Games Act 2001 and the 2004 Regulations, as well as anti-money laundering legislation, electronic commerce legislation and any other relevant law.
The following four classes of licences are available in Malta:
Class 1 For operators managing their own risk on repetitive games. This class covers casino-type games, skill games and online lotteries
Class 2 For operators managing their own risk on events based on a matchbook. Under this class falls fixed odds betting, pool betting and spread betting.
Class 3 For operators taking a commission from promoting and/or betting games. This class includes P2P, poker networks, betting exchange and game portals.
Class 4 To host and manage remote gaming operators, excluding the licensee himself. This is intended for software vendors who want to provide management and hosting facilities on their platform.
A licence of any class is granted for the period of five years and may be renewed thereafter for periods of five years. A company may apply for more than one class of licence, but the applicant must be a Maltese registered company.
Taxation
Gaming taxes differ in accordance to the type of activity/license as follows:
Casino-type games
Lm2,000 (approx. Euro4,600) / month during the first 6 months after issue of the licence ;
Lm3,000 (approx. Euro 6,900) / month subsequently for the entire duration of the licence period.
Where a casino operator operates from a host platform (Class 4 licence) the following taxation rules apply:
Casino operator - Lm500 (approx. Euro 1,150) / month
Host platform - NO TAX for the first 6 months of operation; Lm1,000 (approx. Euro2,300) / month for the subsequent 6 months & Lm2,000 (approx. Euro 4,600) / month subsequently for the entire duration of the licence.
Betting Operations
0.5% on the gross amount of bets accepted
0.5% on the aggregate of stakes paid (pool betting)
Betting Exchanges & Poker Operations
5% on net income (net income is defined as revenue from rake less bonus, commissions and payment processing fees, ie e-commerce fees)
Tax Cap
Maximum gaming tax payable annually by one licensee in respect of any one licence is Lm200,000 (approx. EUR460,000).
Casino operators (under Class 1) operating from the host platform (Class 4 licence) the tax cap applies to the total tax payable by all licensees on the platform and the platform itself.
Corporate tax
The gaming operator can take advantage of the favourable company tax regime applicable in Malta. The entity most commonly used for the conduct of gaming business is the international trading company.
